Curry: A Biography"This book tells the history of India and its rulers through their food. It follows the story of curry as it spread from the courts of Delhi to the bath houses of Birmingham, from the uffin-carriers of Bombay to the army canteens of Japan." "Curry is the product of India's long history of invasion. In the wake of the Mughal conquerors, an army of cooks brought Persian recipes to northern India; in the south, Portuguese spice merchants introduced vinegar marinades and the chillies they had recently discovered in the New World; the British soon followed, with their passion for roast meat accompanied by cauliflowers and beans. When these new ingredients were mixed with native spices such as cardamoms and black pepper, they produced those distinctively Indian dishes - biryani, vindaloo and jalfrezi. Almost every Indian dish is the product of such a fusion of different food traditions." "Curry: A Biography tells the story of an array of familiar Indian dishes and the people who invented, discovered, cooked and ate them. The British relished the kaleidoscope: indiscriminately, they called everything 'curry' and took it back to Britain, where it became a staple of the Victorian dinner party. Later, after the Second World War, Bangladeshi seamen, by opening Indian restaurants and take-aways in London's East End, helped to make curry Britain's new national dish." "Curry teems with colourful characters, from Elizabeth Gwillim's Indian servants who refused to serve hare for a dinner party, to culinary rivalry between the courts of Lucknow and Delhi; from the Rajah who loved roast black rat, to a young Gandhi surviving in London on a diet of porridge."--BOOK JACKET. |
Contents
Curry Powder bringing India to Britain | 129 |
13 | 136 |
47 | 147 |
Copyright | |
2 other sections not shown
Other editions - View all
Curry: A Tale of Cooks and Conquerors Elizabeth M. Collingham,Lizzie Collingham Limited preview - 2007 |
Common terms and phrases
almonds Anglo-Indian Asian Babur beef Bengal biryani black pepper boiled Bombay Brahmans bread Britain British butter Calcutta cardamom central Asia century chicken chillies chutney cinnamon cloves coconut Cookery Book cooks coriander culinary culture cumin cups curry powder diet dining dinner dishes drink East India Company eaten emperor English European fish flavour flour fresh fried fruit garam masala garlic ghee ginger Goan Gujarati Hindu Hindustan India Office Collections Indian Cookery Indian food Indian restaurants Indo-Fijians ingredients Jaffrey Jahangir juice khichari kitchen lentils Lucknow Madras mango masala meal meat menu merchants milk mixed Mughal Mughal Empire Mughlai cuisine Muslim mutton Nawab onions Oriental and India pepper Persian pickles pilau Portuguese potatoes Punjabi recipes rice roast salt sauce servants served simmer soup spices spicy stew subcontinent sugar sweet Syhletis tablespoons tamarind tandoor Tea Association tomatoes trade Travels turmeric vegetables vegetarian village vindaloo yogurt رح